RE: France objects to "Waterloo" coin?
June 10, 2015 at 2:49 pm
(This post was last modified: June 10, 2015 at 2:51 pm by Dystopia.)
These people think they understand a lot about French sentiments regarding historical figures - If we exclude truly evil people like Hitler most citizens everywhere have mixed feelings about dictators. Most Russians are not communist but many thing Lenin was the right man for the time and did what had to be done. I completely understand why the French don't want a national figure as a puppet to glamorize human rights, liberalism and everything the EU claims to stand for but somehow contradicts itself by allowing the most oppressive economic system to exist and fucking smaller countries' economies.
Moreover, people must be joking when comparing Napoleon to modern human rights because the time he rose to power is not comparable and entirely different.
The problem with people is that they evaluate every political figure according to a western concept of morality based on pseudo imaginary human rights. You can't do that and expect to understand politics and ideology. Many marxists dislike Stalin, but are ok with Lenin. Political figures can do evil and still have an impact because they did good to other people. Someone like Hitler and the nazis is arguably an extreme case because it's an ideology based on hate (Anti-semitism is a core value).
If we followed this rule, any pre-liberalism political figure is oppressive, offensive and a dictator by modern rules.
Moreover, people must be joking when comparing Napoleon to modern human rights because the time he rose to power is not comparable and entirely different.
The problem with people is that they evaluate every political figure according to a western concept of morality based on pseudo imaginary human rights. You can't do that and expect to understand politics and ideology. Many marxists dislike Stalin, but are ok with Lenin. Political figures can do evil and still have an impact because they did good to other people. Someone like Hitler and the nazis is arguably an extreme case because it's an ideology based on hate (Anti-semitism is a core value).
If we followed this rule, any pre-liberalism political figure is oppressive, offensive and a dictator by modern rules.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you
